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Our Board

  • Officers
  • Board
  • Advisory
  • Chair Emeriti

dean waltersDean Walters, chair - is an accomplished singer, conductor, director and producer. A graduate of DePauw University with a major in choral music education and applied voice, Dean also graduated from the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He has won many national and regional vocal awards. Dean has been a featured soloist with the Keys Chorale at FKCC for the past ten years, and has recently taken over the reins as director. Dean teaches at FKCC, and is developing the curriculum for an Associate in Arts degree in Music. He has also taught private voice for over 30 years and is the music director of the Key West United Methodist Church.

pat unferthPatricia Unferth Bowman, vice chair - moved to Key West in October 2005 from Morristown, Tennessee where she was the Executive Director of Rose Center and Council of the Arts. She managed arts programming for a rural region in East Tennessee providing arts education in local schools, rotating art exhibits featuring local and regional artists, and historical exhibits for local communities. She has a B.A. in Business Management, magna cum laude from Maryville College, Maryville, Tennessee. Currently she serves as Strategic Assistant at The Andersen Firm a legal and financial services company. She enjoys fly fishing in the beautiful waters of the Florida Keys.


sherry phillipsSherry Phillips, secretary– teaches and practices Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy, which is a form of touch therapy that decompresses the central nervous system. It is about presence and awareness  of what is arising in the system. It is this moment to moment  creation that resembles the creation of art. She draws on the vast environment of the Florida Keys and the American Southwest in her glass art creations of stained glass, mosaics and fused glass. Her love of hiking and the outdoors takes her and her dog to northern New Mexico each summer. The rest of the time she can be found in Big Pine Key with her husband where together they run Ichabod Crane Service.

gayle hewlettGayle Hewlett, treasurer - Gayle is a photographer and has lived in Marathon with her husband since 1981. She is a member of the Florida Keys Art Guild and the Bougainvillea House Gallery. She has shown her work at the Pigeon Key Art Festival for the past five years. Currently, Gayle is studying Chinese brush painting, producing her work on traditional rice paper as well as Sea Grape leaves.



lucy carletonLucy Elyse Carleton – is a social dance instructor, TV camera operator/floor director & REALTOR. Lucy & her husband Leon Williams have been dance partners & instructors since 1995 and were instrumental in forming the Key West Ballroom Dance group that dances every Sunday night. They have been teaching social dance (salsa, swing, hustle, Texas 2 step, cha cha, etc.) & hosting the 3rd Sat Dance Social at Paradise Health & Fitness Dance Studio in Key West for the past 10 years. Lucy has been involved with recycling since 1989 when she was the director of Recycle Key West. She currently is a GLEE member. She is on the board of the Waterfront Playhouse & the Monroe County Extension Service. Lucy has been a member of the Key West Association of Realtors since 1988 serving as Secretary, Treasurer & on various commitees. Working in her yard, which is a Florida Certified Yard (catching rain in barrels, compost & mulch), is what she enjoys in her free time.

Judy Harris, Ocean Reef, museum and school administrator

tom butlerKaren Leonard – has been living in Key West since 1992 where the endless supply of rich material attracted her to film and digital media. She works with and documents performing and visual arts and the people that create them. She was a multimedia student at FKCC when she found that part of her creative nature was to document other people’s art. She graduated from Brooklyn College with an MFA in Theater Direction, which led her to teaching and directing children’s theater for the New York City Board of Education. She enjoys music, crafts and traveling with her husband, Aaron.


nancy millerNancy Perez Miller – has over 27 years of architectural and construction experience in South Florida. A graduate in Architecture of the University of Detroit and University of Miami. Nancy Perez Miller Architect, Inc. is a full service firm specializing in public, commercial and residential projects of all sizes and complexity. She also has a background of community service and is a member of (BPW) Business and Professional Women Association, Key Largo Federation of Homeowner’s Association and the Islamorada Historical Preservation Society. Nancy Miller was chosen to be part of Leadership Monroe County Class XI. She has resided in the Florida Keys since 1995 and plans to practice Architecture in Paradise forever.

emily sorkinEmily Sorkin - was the owner of the Sorkin Gallery of Tribeca and Soho, NYC. Her gallery specialized in contemporary art. Ms. Sorkin studied painting and graduated from NYU and Hunter College, NYC with a BS and Masters of Fine Arts degree. Early on, while teaching art in programs sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts and the 92nd Street Y, she worked as a private art dealer and curated exhibitions. Before opening her own gallery, she worked at several well-known galleries in NYC, including the John Gibson Gallery. Her board service with the FKCA includes art in public buildings. Emily and her husband David Greenberg, a photographer, live in Key West.

Board Alternate
Tom Butler, Key Largo, Retired Business Executive & Board member; The Key Players & Upper Keys Sailing Club
Lois Giffen, Marathon, visual artist
Michael Shields, Key West; CEO/Founder, Java Studios; radio talk show host - ArtWaves

Theresa Axford, Key West; Principal, Key West High School
Keith Bland, Key West, Oil Painter
Heather Carruthers, Key West; Board of County Commissioners
Susann D'Antonio, Big Pine Key, visual artist and custom framer
Ann M. Dadd, Key West; P.R. & marketing executive, New York county arts council founding board member
Dr. Rita Fabal, Key West; education administrator
Loretta Geotis, Marathon; executive director/Marathon Community Theatre
Debra Ginsberg - Ocean Reef, Theater Producer, Director & Performer
Elizabeth Halbe, Key West; musician and educator
Claire Lang Richmond, Islamorada, museum administrator, Guardian Ad Litem, Voices Board member
Darlene LaVelle, Marathon, Artist
Michael Marrero, Key West; owner Marrero Studios video & marketing services
Michael Mayer, Key Largo; artist
Deborah Mermelstein, Key West; arts in the hospital liason
William Porter, Key West; career and business coach
Cris Sandifer, Key Largo, Past Chair, Graphic artist, Purple Isles Art Guild
Robert Sax, Key Largo, Coral Shores High School Band Director, Music teacher
Alison Schaeffler-Murphy, Tallahassee, arts adminstration
Marcia Somersall, Key West; arts and community activist, businessperson
Joyce Stahl, Key West; dance professional
Roger Westerlund, Key West; arts activist and liaison
Susanne Woods, PhD, Sugarloaf, Retired Dean & Professor , Brown University & Provost, Wheaton College

Dr. Shirley Freeman
Key West; FKCA founding member; former Mayor, Monroe County; retired (20 years) Monroe County school administrator

June Girard
FKCA Board 1999 - 2006, Chair 2002 - 2004, Patron of the Arts

Bill Andersen
Key West; President, The Andersen Firm: A Professional Corporation, Attorneys at Law; FKCA Board Chair 1999 - 2002